Real Estate in Bend Oregon . . . November 2013
November in Bend
The Bend real estate market cooled a bit in November. Sales were down 27% from October (Bend Real Estate). After a run of 6 consecutive months of 200 sales or more, we saw that number slump (slump?) to 165 for November. Just a seasonal adjustment?
Inventory levels remained low . . . just 3.3 months overall. Interestingly, there was a huge bump in available inventory in homes priced in the $200,000 to $350,000 range. A year ago, there were 112 listings in this price range; last month, there were 288 . . that’s an increase of 128%!
High End Bend . . . $1,057,000
With the general cooling, the high end in Bend real estate suffered a bit too. The most expensive sale was a 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath, 5087 square foot home on the Butte. There wee no other sales between $802,000 and one million.
The winner sold for $221 per square foot. The home, built in 2006, offered outstanding Cascade views. It also featured a “heated” driveway (a red flag?), a very roomy open plan, and the requisite gourmet kitchen.
I feel like a broken record. The home was on the market for 324 days.
Median Price . . . $295,000
The median price of $295,000 (up from $256,000 a month ago) would get you this “cute westside home” . . . 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and 1092 square feet.
Despite the crummy picture (the only one in MLS!), it sold for more than the list price, and closed in less than 37 days. Just goes to show a couple of things– that I know nothing about effective marketing, and the continuing popularity of Bend’s westside.
Bend On The Cheap . . . $100,000
The low end continued to kill it in November. Take another peek at the chart at the top of the page . . . barely a month’s inventory available under $200,000; fully 36% of sales were under $250,000. This price segment perhaps driven by the on-fire rental market. A home purchased in this price can pencil immediately.
The low end leader sold in just 9 days (too quickly for the listing agent to even snap a photo!)
The 3/2, 1344 square foot home sold for $100,000 . . . or $75 per square foot.
Other Notable Home Sales in Bend
Some would consider this a shameless plug . . . these sales are notable because we made them.
The first is a magnificent home on the Butte . . . sited on a 1.46 acre lot (too large to qualify in our residential search parameters).
It sold (before it even hit MLS) for $1.3 million.
The second is a casual (my word) cottage on Archie Briggs.
It would make a cool vacation home or a comfy everyday residence. It sold for $257,000.
Cold Weather Ahead
Hard to say where the market is headed; depends a bit on interest rates and lending regulation adjustments. However, it is safe to say that we’ve got some cold weather ahead, Mt. Bachelor is open (yahoo!), the holidays are coming, and Bend is a wonderful place to live!